New Name, New Guts for Old ES Building

Meagan Smith
The Paw Print

According to the NSSE survey taken by Adams States College students in 2008, it was requested that the ES building be one of the first projects considered for renovation.
This 11.4 million dollar renovation is being funded by the Capital Construction Fee given by the state of Colorado. “It took a long time to get the funding, but we finally got it,” said President Svaldi.
The ES building is one the oldest buildings and is attended more during the week by students than any other building on campus. At over 43 years old, the renovation has been a long time coming considering that the building has had many complaints about old furniture, poor air circulation, and growing asbestos.
Currently the building is being completely gutted, and the deadline for the finished product is fall semester of 2011.
Students in the mean time can look forward to a new technology lab, a small coffee and food stand filled with lots of goodies, and a larger lecture hall for classes and events on the first floor.  On the south side of the building there will be an atrium with interior glass walls and an open staircase filled with natural sunlight and indoor and outdoor seating areas for studying and relaxation.
Teachers and staff will be relocated on the East side of the building on the second floor giving students better access to them. Also on the third floor, there will be a new student lounge with access to Wi-Fi. Another important addition will be a new parking lot on First and Richardson east of the building to reduce overcrowding.
“My hope is to create a better environment for learning,” said President Svaldi.
So, why the name change? Adams State College board of Trustees decided to rename the Education and Social Sciences Building to “John E. McDaniel Hall” because of his strong dedication and contributions to the school. McDaniel in his commitment to higher education made the second largest donation in Adams State history to establish the McDaniel Scholarship Trust and dedicated a large portion of his estate to better the future of students. Over the course of eleven years, McDaniel has given $823,000 in endowment funds toward half-tuition scholarships.
McDaniel, before becoming a history professor here at Adams State, earned a bachelors of arts and master of arts degree in English at Texas Christian University. Later, he studied French culture and civilization at the University of Strasbourg with a Fulbright Grant. Before finishing his doctorate at Harvard, he decided to commit himself to work in the John F. Kennedy presidential campaign, later working with the Kennedy administration.
“It wasn’t easy to get Dr. McDaniel to jump on board with naming such a large portion of the Adams State Campus after him; however, after much persuasion from the board of trustees Dr. McDaniel finally agreed,” said President Svaldi.